you're my home
by poopcuties
Summary: He got back from tour yesterday, but he's never really felt at home until now. /or/ In which Ross and Laura reunite after months without seeing each other. Raura.


**authors note:** i was kinda tired of playing papa's cupcakeria on coolmath (i was rly bored), and i also had raura feels because of that ross interview and the cast reuniting, so i made this. it's not that great, but it's my first fanfic ever so please don't be too harsh. please review if you liked it, because i might write more in the future. enjoy! :)

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><p>He wakes up to the sound of his iPhone vibrating madly on his desk to the tune of his default ringtone. The vibration it sends throughout the room is loud enough to wake him up, stretching his arms and rubbing his eyes, clumsily picking up his phone to stop the ringing.<p>

"FIRST DAY OF FILMING!", the screen reads. His eyes widen and it only takes him a second to jump out of bed, frantically rushing to put on a pair of sweatpants, not caring if he wakes up his entire family. Because _oh god,_ today was _the_ day. Today was the day.

Next to him, Ross hears Ryland's faint murmuring. "_Duuuddeee,_ it's like 6 A.M. Either shut up or go back to sleep." The corners of Ross' mouth twitch upwards, forming a slight smile. He doesn't care that Ryland's snapping at him, he's too high off of excitement to mind.

He's giggling now, probably looking all sorts of crazy. "Today's the first day of filming," he says calmly (though his body says otherwise, as his leg is thump, thump, thumping, and his fingers are tap, tap, tapping).

Ryland seems to understand the importance of today, as he lets Ross leave the room with just a simple tired slur of "Wake me up before you go, I wanna see how stupid you look before you leave." Ross only nods, the stupid grin never leaving his face. He grabs his towel, a pair of ripped jeans, and a graphic tee that reads "blondie", before setting off to the bathroom.

He brushes his teeth (twice), takes a piss (once), and showers (once, though he thinks he should do it a second time, because he really, really, _really_ wants to impress her). He applies a boat load of deodorant and cologne, because he knows that she loves the smell. Ross hopes that maybe when he hugs her (her petite body pressed against his), she'll smell like him. He kind of doesn't want that at the same time, though, because he wants Laura to smell like Laura, and to him Laura smells like home.

After he gets dressed, he goes downstairs to fix himself a bowl of cereal. (But because Ross, is well, _Ross_, he didn't miss the opportunity to yell out "Austin and Ally todaaaaayyyyy!" for his entire family to hear).

After a couple of minutes of munching and crunching, he hears footsteps coming from the stairwell. "God Ross, can you like be quiet for one second?" Rydel asks, dresses clad in a pink pajama suit, with fuzzy bunny slippers to top it all off. Once she sees his face as she pushes past him to get a bowl, she breaks out into a wide grin, and for a second, Ross worries that her face'll get stuck like that forever. "No way!" She shrieks. _Yes way_, he thinks. "I can't believe you're gonna see them today, for the first time in months! Are you excited?"

He gives her a _"no duh"_ sort of face, because he's kind of too happy to talk right now. Rydel has calmed a bit, and now she smiles softly at him, her eyes crinkling. "Are you nervous?"

He gives her a questioning look. "Why would I be nervous?"

Rydel snorts, like the supportive sister she is. "Well, Ross, it's not like you haven't seen them in half a year? Oh wait, _it is_."

The blonde gives her a half hearted glare. Rydel's facial expression suddenly changes from playful to worried. "Okay, but are you sure things are gonna be the same, Ross?"

His breath hitched. If he was gonna be totally honest, yeah, he's thought about this. And yeah, he's pretty worried that things are gonna be different. He doubts that they're going be though, because the friendship the Austin and Ally cast share is so tightly woven and connected that one of them could literally kill the other's family, and yeah, they'd still probably be best friends.

"Things are gonna be the same. They'll definitely be the same," Ross began. "Nothing changed when I left for Teen Beach Movie, nothing's gonna change now." He says that mostly to assure himself, instead of her. There's still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind saying "_oh no what if they hate me they should hate me oh my god_".

Rydel looks like she wants to interject, but she votes against it. "The thing is, me, Calum, Raini, and Laura are so close; we're literally unbreakable. Plus, Laura's my best friend, she's always been my best friend. Why would things change now?"

Rydel takes a sip of her coffee, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "Y'know Ross, I didn't ask about Laura. Though, I gotta say, it's nice to know you're thinking about her," She says in a teasing tone.

Ross blushes and goes back to eating his now soggy cereal. "Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>He's in the car now, with his mom. He probably should have gone by himself, but it feels like he'd probably crash the car if he were to drive while being so enthusiastic. The ride there was mostly silent, comfortably silent, and it gave time for Ross to think about what'll happen during the reunion. He's never been really religious, but he semi prays that it'll go down smoothly.<p>

The blonde imagines about what it will be like, seeing Laura for the first time in months. She's justified to be angry at him, really she is, but that still doesn't mean he wants her to be mad. He kind of craves her presence right now, it's been too long since he's last seen her. He knows it's his fault.

Time seems to fly by and they make it to the studio in a few minutes. It's 9:53, seven minutes too early.

Ross and Stormie sign in, making their way towards the Austin and Ally set. 9:55. They see Kevin and Heath and exchange hellos; Stormie makes small talk while Ross tunes them out. 9:58. Ross sips a bottle of water he brought as his fingers nervously tap on the side table and his leg shakes up and down. 9:59.

Ross is suddenly very, very, _very_ nervous. His happiness is still there, but at this point, worry is taking over his mind. He's staring at the clock now. She— _they_ were going to arrive any second now.

The second hand was currently at the 10. Any second now.

Nine seconds left. Any second now.

Eight seconds left. Any second now.

Seven seconds left. Any second now.

Six seconds left. Any second now.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

_"Hey."_

His head whips up, and suddenly the tapping stops, and the thumping stops, and the ticking stops, and everything has _stopped._

_heyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyhey_

"Hey."

And now they're running, _they're running._ He's dropped everything and she let go of her drink and now they're running. To each other.

When they reach the middle, he catches her. He scoops her up into his arms and they're spinning now, giggling and crying. It quite honestly resembles Austin and Ally's reunion, but they haven't even thought of that yet since the only thing on their mind is _lauralauralaura_ and _rossrossross_.

She's tucked into his arms and pressed against his chest so tightly, and his chin rests at the top of her head. There are tears streaming down both of their faces, but their smiles are so bright they could light up this whole world. Swaying back and forth as if they're dancing to music, they stand there, embracing, for the first time in months.

He takes a swift intake of breath, and he catches her scent while he's at it. She smells like vanilla and flowers and everything good in this world, and she smells like home. He got back from tour yesterday, but he's never really felt at home until now. _Laura is his home._

He speaks first. "I missed you."

Her eyes water as she chokes out a response. "I've missed you too. So much."

Ross smiles and laughs, leaning down until his forehead is touching her's. They're so close now and he can feel her breathing heavily. When she lets out an "_I love you,_" with such passion and fondness, he's shocked but whispers "_I love you,_" back, because he really does. He loves her more than anything.

He loves her, so he kisses her. Soft and sweet, but filled with an enormous amount of emotion that only them, Ross and Laura, can convey. One hand tangled in her hair, and the other intertwined with her fingers, they pour out all the emotions that they could have had in almost a year, into a minute. They're kissing and they're just so happy that they wonder if this is just a dream. It's not.

"Ahem." They don't break apart. "_Ahem._" They untangle, giggling softly with cheerful eyes. "I see you two have sorted your little thing out," Calum says, amused as he points at the two of them back and forth, Raini right behind them. They knew this was coming, they shouldn't have expected anything different.

For a while, the foursome just stare at each other. The clock is ticking and the room is silent; the entire set is watching, holding their breath, because what if it's not the same anymore? What if it's different?

Seconds pass into what seems like hours until they eventually give in, tumbling into a gigantic group hug, and it's like Ross and Laura all over again because they're crying like babies. A few stray strands of Raini's curls have somehow snuck their way into Ross' mouth, and Laura's kinda feeling a little squished, trapped in Calum's arms, but it's okay. It's more than okay.

Throughout the day, they pulled silly faces at each other during the read through (causing Laura to snort and Raini to almost fall off her chair). They had done piggy back rides and posted a video of said rides on Instagram (it ended up with Laura on the ground and Ross laughing his ass off). They snuck in time with Pixie (who was just as adorable as the day they last saw her). And of course, they made fun of Ross' hair (which was pretty justified considering that if he wasn't so gifted in the facial features area, he could've been mistaken for a rat).

They were so engulfed in each other's presence, they didn't care what they did, as long as they were together. Nothing changed; they were back to being Ross, Calum, Raini, and Laura, or rather _RossCalumRainiLaura_. They were back together again. Nothing changed.

* * *

><p>Later on in the day, when things seemed to have quieted down, Ross intertwined his hand with Laura's as she stood up to grab her purse. "Y'know," he spoke quietly, "I was kinda worried that we might have drifted apart, that we maybe might have changed. I was wrong."<p>

Laura stared down at him intensely before speaking lightly. "Aren't you always wrong, Ross? Remember when you thought Japan was an island?" Amusement radiates from her words and Ross smiles— he's missed this.

With a playful glare he retaliates, "Don't even mention that. By the way, I _still_ think it's an island."

The brunette lets out a soft giggle and punches his arm jokingly. "Yeah, okay. It's totally a country."

"Island."

"Country."

"Island."

"Country."

"_Island._"

An exasperated breath leaves Laura's mouth as sticks her tongue out. "We could do this all day you know."

"'s okay," he slurs. "I'm fine with that." His arms wrap around her waist and he sets his chin on her shoulder. "As long as I'm with you."

His words cause Laura's heart to soar and her eyes to water. Doesn't mean she can't joke, thought. "Okaaayyy, Mr. Cheesy Mc Cheese Balls, that was totally lame and you know it."

Ross lets out a humph. "Yeah, maybe it was, I guess. Doesn't make it any less true though." Laura laughs happily, untangling their hands to lightly shove him on the shoulder. He ends up hugging her from behind again, being the typical romantic he is.

Things go quiet as they stand there, just the two of them. The sound of the clock ticking is deafening, but it doesn't matter anymore. He can't believe this is real. "You know Laura, you're kind of my home."

Their position changes as she turns to look him in the eyes, hugging properly, before raising one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm your house?"

He nuzzles his nose against her cheek, and Laura can hardly breathe, but it's in a good way. Excellent, really. "No. It means," he pauses for a second, collecting his thoughts, "it means that I always want to be by your side. It means I love you."

It isn't the first time he says it, but it feels all the same. Her heart beats in her chest, and her stomach is filled with butterflies, making her tingle. And oh god— _she's happy._ She's so fucking happy that she's having trouble breathing properly, with her smile that is oh so genuine and bright, her eyes crinkling with delight, and for _fuck's sake_, she's hasn't been this happy since she found out she got the role of Ally Dawson. Maybe even happier.

With his chin resting on her shoulder, and their faces nuzzled together, Ross speaks again.

_"It means you're my home."_


End file.
